Thought of the Month Archive

It is advisable to all to follow the middle path, ‘athi sarvatra vajayeth’ is an ancient axiom; it means, ‘avoid excess, in all places.’ You must respect the limits set by the experience of

Every human being is a fragment of the Divine. Only when a man discharges his duties will his life find fulfillment. Duty is man’s primary obligation. If a man is endowed with wealth and

Love is, thus, an amalgam of sweetness, effulgence, and wisdom. Compassion is the reflection of love.  Jesus is the embodiment of compassion. He looked with compassion at the poor and the miserable and gave

Liberation is just the awareness of truth, the falling off of the scales of delusion from the eye. It is not a special suburb of select souls; it is not a closed monopoly of

Who could have foreseen that these minute specks of life (amoebae) could hold out against the gigantic onslaught of molten lava and earth-shaking upheaval?  That speck of chaitanya, or life-consciousness, won through, nevertheless. Undeterred

The contemplation of the Godhead as ‘above and beyond all attributes’ is necessary for the attainment of jivanmukti (attainment of liberation while in the body). If that is difficult and beyond your capacity, you

Heart must understand heart; heart must be drawn to heart, if friendship must last. Friendship must bind two hearts and affect both of them beneficially, whatever may happen to loss or gain, pain or

What is mala? Man commits many offences, knowingly or unknowingly, not only in this life but also in previous lives. The imprint of these actions is carried by the chitta (memory), life after life,

What is the cause for man’s sorrow, delight, and infatuation? The cause can be traced to the different kleshas (sorrows) that afflict man from time to time. The first sorrow that afflicts man is

There is a marked difference between satisfaction, which is called trupti, and true joy, which is santrupti. To understand this, consider the distinction between kirtan and sankirtan. Kirtan, which is vocal music, comes only

Swami says that it is not possible to give up the objects of this world, but if we can give up our sense of possessiveness we can be happy. He explains ‘detachment’ as follows:

So long as there remains a separate river distant from the ocean, which is its source and its goal, then the river will retain a separate name and have an individual identity. But once